Operating FreeDV and RADE

Operating FreeDV and RADE

wfweb is a web transceiver with built-in FreeDV digital voice: select the mode, key, and talk. The client sends and receives ordinary speech; the modem runs between the browser and the radio.

Mode	Where it runs	Notes
RADE (Radio Autoencoder, V1)	Server, and in the browser on Standalone	Neural codec and modem; the current FreeDV mode of choice on HF
700D	Server only	OFDM modem, good on noisy channels
700E	Server only	700D variant for fast fading
1600	Server only	The original FDM mode, robust on clean channels

How it works

RX:  Radio (modem tones over SSB) → FreeDV / RADE decode → speech → browser
TX:  Browser (speech from the mic) → FreeDV / RADE encode → modem tones → radio (SSB)

On the Server build all of it runs on the server. On Standalone, RADE runs as WebAssembly in the browser; the classic modes have no browser port.

Operating

1. Set the rig to USB on a FreeDV frequency (14.236 MHz is the common one on 20 m); the link ?f=14236&m=RADE does both and opens the panel.
2. Press RADE (or pick a classic mode from the FreeDV menu on the Server build). The indicator bar shows sync, SNR and the frequency offset while a signal is being decoded.
3. Enable the mic (the AUDIO / MIC overlay) and use PTT as in SSB. The browser's own microphone is the voice input.

Callsign: your station callsign is sent at the end of each over as RADE's EOO (end-of-over) text, and the callsign of the station you are listening to appears in the indicator bar when their over ends. It arrives after sync is lost, since the EOO is the last frame, so it shows a moment after they unkey.

Hold MON to hear the raw modem audio instead of the decoded speech, for tuning onto a signal.

FreeDV Reporter (Server build)

With the reporter enabled in the FreeDV settings, the server connects to qso.freedv.org while a FreeDV or RADE mode is active (as RADEV1 in RADE), reports what it hears, and disconnects when you switch back to SSB. Callsign and grid come from the gear dialog. Standalone cannot report.

Performance

RADE runs neural network inference in real time: expect roughly 40 % of a mid-range laptop core (an Intel i5-10310U at 1.7 GHz) on the server, more on a Raspberry Pi. The classic modes are light and run comfortably on a Pi.

Things to know

• The rig must be in USB with a normal SSB filter. wfweb switches the compressor off while it transmits.
• The 300 ms delay between PTT release and the radio unkeying is the EOO frame playing out; it is not a bug.
• The classic modes and the reporter are server-only; see Choosing a Build.